Having wrapped themselves back to ward off the freezing temperatures Mason, Vos and the observer Katrina Stevens moved onto the transporter pad to return to the surface and the hide.

The information they had learned from Stevens was dark and deeply troubling, this needed to stopped and quickly before lives were lost and unmeasurable damaged done to the delicate civilization on the planet.

Mason's mind was occupied with the strings of questions and possible outcomes she didn't hear Vos commanding the computer to beam them down, she did noticed however the uncomfortable feeling that came with transporting and the instant drop in temperature having been inside the nice warm shuttle.

She saw through the vapors of her breath Daniels, Lake and Echevarria huddled together: "Report!" She called crispy before Vos could which caused the two men to turn as if they hadn't heard them return.

Commander Lorran raised an eyebrow, but only looked mildly amused at Mason's behavior. He situated the thermal blanket around Katrina's shoulders as, even swaddled in extreme weather clothing from the runabout, the woman was still mildly shaking. He would have left her in the runabout if he could, but liked leaving her along less. With the trauma she'd gone through it was possible that she could snap and do something rash if left to her own devices.

Daniels was already approaching the three before the transporter had fully finished "Main doors have been sealed and partial systems restored, Lieutenant Lake has started searching the security logs Ensign Echevarria and myself was about to search the rest of the outpost with you permission."

With a nod of approval Kirssy crossed over to the console the remaining two officers were gathered and turned to Kat. "Is there anything we can use to track down Johnson or Tekorin?"

Shrugging her thin shoulders Kat squeezed between Lake and Echervarria, pressed a series of buttons picked some well chosen words under her breath. Sensing the eyes of all the others upon her she paused and looked up. "Most of the data here has been purged but I might be able to find something, just give me some time."

"Mr Lake, see if you can bring another console into life to widen the search," Mason asked hoping to haul Mike away from staring openly at the survivor.

Mike snapped off from his stare, kicking himself in the leg; 'how the hell can you be so randy, Mike, shes been gone not even a week and you're chasing chicks.' he thought to himself.
"I can probably do it. But seriously, this place is banjaxed. And someone has gone and fried half the bloody circuits around here."

"Try your best, Mr Lake. The more information we can find out the better equipped we will be."

"Continue your search Daniels, but take extra caution and a sharp eye. Miss Stevens has informed us of a potently highly hazardous situation. This observation post has also been used as a stronghold of Theragen nerve gas, and our 'friends' have taken it upon themselves to seize a portion of the stock held here. I want to you head to the containment labs and calculate the amount stolen, then we can gauge just how devastating this situation could become."

"Yes ma'am" catching Diego's eye he nodded towards the exit signaling for him to follow, once the two where close enough and far enough away to avoid being heard he leaned towards Diego and asked "So how bad is this Theragen?"

"Bad enough to question what the hell a supply was doing in an outpost like this," Diego muttered with grimness and a small supply of disgust. "I can't be more specific because I'm neither a scientist or a doctor. I'm a psychiatrist, and as such I can only offer you a civilian's hyperbole on anything other than my chosen field."

"Fair enough" Daniels replied knowing that Diego had been spooked by the mention of the chemicals even if he didn't know exactly what it was meant for. "Terrorism is starting to appear more and more likely now" the taing of the outpost had been quick but the murder of the personnel had been deliberately slow and torturous to gain all the information needed to recover the stock pile.

"Well, if the gas is stolen, it does mean terrorism. I can't offer a solid argument to the contrary there," he added. "The only thing I can question is the 'gain' Tekorin would achieve."

"Money, power even just plain old chaos" Daniels understood these motivations from other mad men and despots he had studied both at the Academy and assignment.

"It's one planet- only one planet. If he wanted to draw whole worlds into believing the Federation- or any Interstellar Empire- is a malevolent entity, the work required would take him decades. Not to mention the ultimate goal would remain frustratingly vague."

"For some chaos is all the motivation they need." The two had worked their way into the more industrial areas of the outpost, any stock piles of weapons equipment and such would be kept here.

"I don't like the idea of Tekorin being one of those people without a motivation beyond mere chaos."

Daniels stopped suddenly drawing Diego's attention back to him "Why does it bother you so much?"

Diego sighed and went silent for a few seconds. "Because no motive means there can be no method or means of countering his tendencies," he finally replied, viewing the problem as if from a Psycho-analogy session. "At that point he ceases to be a patient capable of being cured... and becomes more like an animal that needs to be put down."

Jack was silent for a while as his own memories floated through his head, focusing back on Diego pulled Daniels back on the assignment to cover the memories again. "You cant save everyone, some times the only cure is a phaser shot to the head" fully in Daniels mode now he set back off trusting Diego to keep up "And that's why I'm here."

While Daniels and Echevarria moved away talking to low tones Kat had been delving deep into the tangled systems to find something of use, behind her Lake was working on another console which instantly flickered to life.
It seemed Lake had been able to rewire the communication relays which was received an interesting visual broadcast. At the sound of crackling interference and gripping words: "Government lies...off worlders." Kat Stevens looked up from her work.

"Commanders," she called, "I think you should come and look at this."

Commander Lorran had been using his time to begin putting the nearly frozen bodies into waterproof bags for transport back to the runabout. It was grim work, but fortunately the cold kept them from starting to smell. Death wasn't clean like they depicted it in the holo-novels. For one thing, there was a lot more blood in real life, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. It would have been relatively pleasant if blood was the only substance he had to deal with. He finished zipping up a bodybag and removed his disposable gloves, then sighed at the sight of the corpses all lines up in a neat row. He shook his head and moved over to stand behind Kat and watch whatever it was she had found.

Brushing free the ice crystals on the screen she stared surrounded by the Starfleet officers at the chiseled face of a stranger, certainly not a usual reporter or political figure Kat recognized.

Beside her Mason sneared with a mixture of disgust and anger: "Tekorin,"

So this was the terrorist Kat thought watching as the broadcast continued. "With your government on the verge of war I present you with a more pressing and concerning issue. You beloved leaders are being influenced and manipulated by off worlders. These outsiders are planning out each of your daily woes watching you struggle on breaking your back for a square meal.
"You wish for evidence and I hear your cry, and I can present it to you." The camera panned around the bare windowless room to reveal the stiff, cold body of observer Johnson undressed save the essentials to keep some modesty in place.

Kat's face hardened at the sight. Before the assault she would have wept several tears for him, but now she simply stared straight through the image.

"You can see instantly the differences in physical appearances but the further evidence lays beneath the skin of the deceased who I can tell you is a Human." Raising a scalpel from the tray beside the corpse Tekorin made a incision across the man's pale shoulders cutting along the collar bone trailing behind a line of dark blood in its wake.
"An autopsy will be carried out at 21.00 hours and like this broadcast it will be done live by Doctor Henakin. Proof my friends that will shake the governments foundations and mayor Diam will topple from his post."
The picture snapped to black the broadcast terminated.

Mike snorted: "This has become way more than a simple check up mission now." he looked to Stevens ."I hate to be insensitive, but, we should get the body, or at least destroy it before 21 hundred." he glanced towards Krissy and Vos "Remember, just by being here we're violating the Prime Directive. I think we need to formulate a plan now."

Still staring at the black screen Mason watched her colleagues reflections. "We are aware of the situation, and yes you're quite right the body needs to be removed as well as neutralizing the threat of chemical warfare. Our first priority is sourcing the location. Can you track where the broadcast was being transmitted to?" She asked Lake and then as a secondary thought turned to Kat. "Was the team fitted with any tracking devices should they become lost on the planet?"

Kat was silent for a moment as she she was struggling to comprehend the new twist of events, the horror of the news had ceased her shivering. "I don't know," she answered the question. "I think there is another concern in this picture - the mayor. I think they plan to have him assassinated."

"Our first priority is still finding the gas and the body. I'm sorry, but the Prime Directive still applies in a sense. We have to make sure these people never find out about us, our technology, or Tekorin. So finding that location is crucial. I know Tekorin has already influenced these people irreparably, but outside of neutralizing him and maaaybe dropping an anonymous hint through the planet's communication system if we find out a planned time for the assassination...there's little else we can do to affect the internal matters of these people." Vos spoke up. That Krissy seemed to be barking orders and going over his head didn't seem to be bothering him. This was an investigation after all and she was Chief of Security. That didn't mean he wasn't going to step down as leader of this mission, however.

Mike nodded "If you don't mind the recommendation, I think we should pick off the main players in this game as well. Most of us are 'trained' snipers."

"If there is no way to capture him, then I'll authorize Tekorin's death, but only if all other avenues of taking him alive have been exhausted." Vos sighed. For an ex-freedom fighter himself, Commander Lorran seemed loathe to use violence as a means to an end.